Conflicting signals

The 46 million Americans born between 1965 and 1978 have been
tagged with a lot of negative epithets: baby busters, Generation
Xers, and slackers. But recent studies of the 20-to-34 age group
suggest a more positive characterization: Strivers.

Generation Xers crave success and the American dream, which
includes buying a home, says Roz Chernoff, a partner at Yankelovich
in Norwalk, Connecticut, which conducts an annual study on the
attitudes this age group has toward home and hearth.

Twenty-two percent of the Xers report they're saving to buy a
home, up from 16 percent in 1992, according to 1997 Yankelovich
Monitor results. That's no surprise, given that a high 81 percent
of this group agreed that owning their own home was "very much a
part of the American Dream," compared to 79 percent of boomers and
74 percent of matures.

The number of Xers who say they expect to buy a house this year
matches boomers. "It's not too soon for marketers to start planning
for the day when Gen-X moves from those first homes, which perhaps
may not be everything they want, to their 'spec homes,' to fulfill
their dreams," Chernoff says.

But their economic viability is a different story. An annual
survey conducted by PSI Global found that while the baby busters
represent 18 percent of all credit-card holders, they account for
25 percent of the industry's outstanding debt. A Gen-Xer's average
unpaid monthly balance is $3,128, which is 28 percent higher than
the $2,438 average for all credit card users. And 60 percent of
them bounce balances from card to card while chasing teaser rates,
compared to 46 percent for the industry overall.

To boomers, this may look irresponsible. But to Xers, it's a way
to hedge their bets while using their capital for other things. The
Yankelovich report notes that Xers expect things to change, and are
comfortable with a diversity of styles.

That extends to their careers as well. They've switched jobs a
lot and have had a comparatively difficult time getting ahead in
the workplace. A study published in the Monthly Labor Review
compared the career trajectories of baby boomers and Gen-Xers by
examining the work status of 25-to-34-year-olds in 1979 (boomers)
and the same age group in 1996 (Gen-Xers). While the employment
rate for this age group rose slightly, from 75 percent in 1979 to
80 percent in 1996, the average weekly earnings, when adjusted for
inflation, fell 15 percent, from $545 to $463. One reason, the
study found, is that young adults in 1996 were less likely to be
employed in professional, technical, and administrative jobs, and
more likely to work in sales, service, and production than their
1979 counterparts.

"The question then is: Is the dream an impossible one for this
generation?" Chernoff says. "No way. Xers are upbeat, they are
focused on the future, and are determined to succeed."